Surviving

Sunday we had a winter storm rolling  in. 

I realized Caramel couldn’t stay up on the hill with wind and snow coming and cobbled together a makeshift space to keep her as dry as possible. 

By Monday morning the mountains were covered. I managed to get into work despite my windshield wipers motor trying to quit on me. 

Getting home was a little hairier 

I discovered in the wind and rain Caramel had escaped. I think the collapsing tarp scared her. She was back in the hill pen. I fixed things up and got her back in the little pen. 

The snow was coming thick and fast while I did afternoon chores. Those are my tracks filling in with snow in about 5 minutes. 

And it snowed. 

And snowed. 

And snowed some more. 

I was late for work on Tuesday just dealing with blown off tarps and wet pens. 

And on Tuesday it snowed. 

And snowed. 

And snowed. I thought I was going to have to hang out at work when I got off but then it stopped and the sun tried to come out. I was able to go get gas and go home. 

Doing chores in this kind of weather is exhausting. The tarps are sagging and ripping from the snow load. So up on a ladder bailing then go underneath and push up to slop off the rest of it. 

The sun did peek out and melt off a little of it. 

I thought using the dolly to move heavy bales was a good idea but the wheels kept making snowballs. 

The seedlings in the kitchen are doing ok but they could use more light. 

On Wednesday time to be up early to take Freya to the spay clinic. The kittens are concerned their mommas in the crate. 

The mountains above Miami 

Copper Hills got slammed. 

#appreciation

Today I really appreciate my friends that have called to check on me and offer help. I really appreciate a friend that loaned a indoor propane heater. I used it to warm up the kitchen so I could work in there. I super appreciate that for all its issues I have a roof over my head, good food to eat, warm clothes to wear. It seems the storm is done and the sun is coming out. While winter had to make an appearance spring is coming. 

Ugh. What a Time We’re Having

Pregnant Posie got a tarp to stay dry. No kids yet. I’m thinking her due date of about March 9 is correct and this has just been a false alarm. 

Fuzzybutt is an odd kitten. I’ve had her jump straight up in the air to land in my arms without warning. And as soon as I go to change into pajamas she’s right there to hop in bed and stand on my chest. 

I finally got some shelf pins and made more shelves so I could get more stuff out of the kitchen. 

Cuz, you know, I need to be able to walk in there. 

That’s a 4’ greenhouse window. Took me two days to clear a path to it then get it cleaned out. The bird net is to keep the cats out of it. 

It holds 8 seedling trays. These are calendula, pansy, sweet alyssum and chamomile. 

Then I made more soil blocks and moved some of the tomatoes. 

Right now some Black Cherry, Supersteak, Principe Borghese, Beefsteak, Brandywine and some others. I also made more little blocks and planted more seeds. I even had to order some more trays. 

In the meantime work continues on clearing this area so we can dig up and redo the bathtub drain which seems to be totally clogged up with tree roots. 

The airtight wood stove seems to have croaked and the nearest company certified repair person is almost 100 miles from me and quoted $185 for service visit +$250 for time and travel due to distance then any necessary parts on top of that. So we are limping along with space heaters to keep the chill off and pray the electric bill isn’t too outrageous. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate that I don’t live up north with tons of snow!

Better Hurry! Spring is Coming!

I tidied up this corner on Thursday. 

Had to replace a light fixture because I couldn’t get it to turn on, no buzzing or anything. I made 400 two inch soil blocks and planted calendula, columbine, chamomile, yarrow, pansies, sweet alyssum 

Then I made 240 3/4” soil blocks and planted 12 kinds of tomatoes. 

And look! In 3 days the sweet alyssum is sprouting. 

I worked on some irrigation which as you can see is leaking. 

I harvested more rocks. 

Pregnant Posie gave me a scare with what was probably some false labor. Tomorrow we’ll see if I fixed the leaky irrigation and make a better cover for the maternity pen since we’re  expecting rain next week. 

I just had a few eggs for market because the greens are infested with aphids and flea beetles. So I sprayed them with spinosad an organic product marketed as Captain Jacks Dead Bug Brew. Hopefully getting on it early will knock them out quick. 

#appreciation

I appreciate the nice weather we’ve been having although it means more bugs. I’m looking forward to the rain coming next week because we really need it 

1/11/2021

Some friends gave me this plastic green house cover a couple of years ago but they couldn’t find the frame. The idea to use these metal shelves came to me in the middle of the night.  Not all set up yet but figuring it out. 

I picked the last of the Tatsoi for market. 

Very pleased with the colors of eggs this year.  We did market on Saturday and worked around the yard some. 

We got more stuff out of the way so we can dig up the leach line for the bathtub soon. 

We picked up some more of the chain link panels left at mom’s house. Got a few more to go. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate having my Farmer Girl here to help out. 

1/7/2021

Well. I didn’t really get to cross anything off the list except firewood. I stayed up waaay too late last night and slept in this morning. I did get some dishes and laundry done. I cut and filled a couple wood boxes and Farmer Girl did the rest. I decided I probably don’t need feed until tomorrow. 

I got two fig trees planted. 

But the ground is so dry and hard I had to fill up the hoes with water so I can finish tomorrow. Maybe. 

I did put some more eggs in the incubator. And Farmer Girl and I worked on dismantling the things in the way of fixing the bath tub drain.  And then it was dark. Time for fire and dinner. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate that I was able to just chill and relax a bit. 

1/6/2021

Today’s list which I wrote out last night and just realized it says Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Does that mean I get an extra day this week? Some family members seem to think that just because I’m at home I’m not “working “. Truth is I work harder here than I ever have to at my day job. 

After I fed all the animals I fed myself. 

Then I gave everybody some grit and oyster shell. 

Hung out a load of laundry and started another load then started in on the dishes. The kitchen has gotten out of control again. 

I cut some wood and realized I needed to clean out the stove but before I could do that I needed to empty the ash can. I added some to the compost pile and added some to a chicken pen, future garden area. I used a magnet to get out all the nails. 

Then I was able to clean out the stove

Then I went and picked my new goat, Caramel. She wasn’t too sure about Giotto and all the cats. 

It took a long time to convince her it was ok to get out of the truck. 

Once Caramel was settled in a bit I had some lunch then fixed a broken irrigation valve. 

Giotto is being perfect. He’s curious but a bit afraid of Caramel due to a previous bad experience with a big goat. Caramel is not thrilled with a dog around and stomps her feet at him with all the hair on her back up. So far Giotto is laying a distance away and just hanging out. 

Besides the big long list there were other things that needed doing, like cooking up the infertile eggs from the incubator to feed back to the hens. I also got more dishes done and hung up a second load of laundry.  And took out two bags of trash. 

Then I cleaned up and moved a chicken tractor 

The chicks that hatched in October have been off heat for a couple of weeks so I moved them out of this pen into the chicken tractor. Then I moved these three oldest chicks from the indoor brooder because they are way too big to hang out with the tiny little Nankin chick that hatched yesterday. 

Nankins are very rare bantam chickens. They are very sweet with great personalities. I’ve got more Nankin eggs in the incubator so hopefully there will be more chicks soon. 

Did I get it all done? No.  But that’s ok, the list helped keep me on track and focused and I got a lot done. Besides there’s always tomorrow.  And now it’s time for a fire and dinner. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate the warm sunny day and how much I was able to get done.